Eyeglasses have long improved the vision of nearsighted and farsighted people, but now, researchers at the University of Oxford are developing a pair that could help the blind see.
Assisted Vision glasses are worn just like any other pair of frames, but they use an OLEDdisplay and cameras to provide spatial information to users.
The system works because 75% of registered blind
people have the ability to detect light,according to the research team.
Assisted Vision's sensors gather data through two cameras, a gyroscope, a compass and GPS. The sensors can capture movement, direction and the exact location — down to within 4 inches — of the objects in front of a user.
The sensors send data to a pocketable processor, which crunches the images. The processor then transmits the reduced data to a display inside the glasses, where objects in front of the user are rendered as a series of lights.
The OLED technology can show different colors and intensities of light to indicate an object's distance. It can also differentiate between objects that are moving and those that are still.
Assisted Vision also comes with a headphone and text-to-speech software, which helps users gather even more information. "This could give directions, read bus numbers or signs," according to the device's official website.
Creators say the glasses could be especially useful for users with cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, among other eye-related conditions.
The team behind Assisted Vision aims to go into production with its first commercial pair of glasses at the end of 2014.
The team behind Assisted Vision aims to go into production with its first commercial pair of glasses at the end of 2014.
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